August 7, 2012

NASA will hold a news conference at 2 p.m. EDT, Thursday, Aug. 9 to discuss the upcoming launch of the Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP), a mission to study Earth´s radiation belts. The event will be broadcast live on NASA Television and streamed on the agency's website.

The two-year RBSP mission will help scientists develop an understanding of Earth´s Van Allen radiation belts and related regions that pose hazards to human and robotic explorers.

RBSP is scheduled to launch no earlier than 4:08 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 23 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The twin probes will lift off on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.

Reporters can ask questions from NASA's centers, by telephone or via Twitter using the hashtag #asknasa. For dial-in information, reporters must send their name, media affiliation and telephone number to [email protected] by 1 p.m. Aug. 9.

RBSP will explore space weather -- changes in Earth's space environment caused by the sun -- that can disable satellites, create power grid failures and disrupt GPS service. The mission also will allow researchers to understand fundamental radiation and particle acceleration processes throughout the universe.